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The Capital One Spark Cash Select is a cash-back credit card that earns you unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with no restrictions, plus 5% cash back when booking hotels and rental cars through Capital One Travel.
In addition to an excellent welcome offer — particularly for a card with no annual fee — this card offers a simple rewards structure, many travel benefits, and helpful features for business purchases, such as extended warranty protection and free employee cards.
Let's take a look at the pros, cons of the Spark Cash Select as well as other perks, to help you decide if this is the right card for your business.
- $750 Cash Back once you spend $6,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
- 1.5% cashback on every purchase
- 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 annual fee
- 1.5% cashback on every purchase
- 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
Page Contents
- Capital One Spark Cash Select Pros
- Capital One Spark Cash Select Cons
- Capital One Spark Cash Select Welcome Offer
- Capital One Spark Cash Select Benefits
- Capital One Spark Cash Select Earning Rates
- Redeeming Cash Back With the Capital One Spark Cash Select
- Application Restrictions and Strategy
- Cards That Compete With the Capital One Spark Cash Select
- Final Thoughts
Capital One Spark Cash Select Pros
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on purchases, with no limits or category restrictions
- Solid welcome bonus after meeting minimum spending requirements
- $0 annual fee
Capital One Spark Cash Select Cons
- High 17.24% - 23.24% (Variable) APR
- Rewards don't transfer to partners
- Requires an excellent credit score
Capital One Spark Cash Select Welcome Offer
New applicants for the Spark Cash Select can earn $750 cash back once you spend $6,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
That's a solid bonus for a cashback card with no annual fee. However, this card's offer is often overshadowed by its Spark siblings:
- 1.5% cashback on every purchase
- 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2% Cash Back on every purchase
- 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One's travel booking site.
- 2% Cash Back on every purchase. 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One's travel booking site.
Capital One Spark Cash Select Benefits
The Spark Cash Select is limited when it comes to benefits, but there are a few worth noting, especially if you are a small business owner and plan to use the card for business purchases.
Access to the Capital One Business Travel portal
The Spark Cash Select offers access to the Capital One Business Travel portal. Cardholders can use the portal to book flights, hotels, and rental cars. It's similar to the consumer Capital One Travel portal, but tailored to businesses.
Although we don't necessarily recommend using a third party to book travel, this can come in handy thanks to Capital One's price drop guarantee. In the event that you book a flight when recommended and the price later drops, Capital One will refund you the difference (up to $50).
Virtual card numbers
Capital One offers a virtual card number (different from the number printed on the card) to use when shopping online. This allows you to keep your actual number safe from would-be thieves or hackers.
Free employee cards
Business owners can also track employee spending while earning all the rewards from their business spending using free employee cards.
$0 fraud liability
Capital One also exempts cardholders from fraud liability for unauthorized charges made with the Spark Cash Select. If your card is lost or stolen, you can get an emergency replacement and a cash advance with this benefit.
Year-end summaries
This benefit, which is often overlooked, can help you get an itemized report of your spending to simplify budgeting and tax time, once tax season arrives.
Roadside assistance
When it comes to travel rewards, another benefit afforded to cardholders is roadside assistance, which can get you aid such as jump-starting, tire changing, and towing during an emergency.
Extended warranty
When using the Spark Cash Select to pay for a purchase, you'll automatically receive an extra year of warranty on your product. This warranty must be three years or less to be eligible for this benefit.
No foreign transaction fees
On other cards, foreign exchange fees can add between 1% and 3% to the cost of every overseas purchase. But the Spark Cash Select doesn't charge these fees — a rarity for $0 annual fee cards. You can feel free to use your card in other countries without incurring a penalty.
Capital One Spark Cash Select Earning Rates
The earning structure for the Spark Cash Select is simple: You'll earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases you make with no limit and no category restrictions. If you book travel in the Capital One Business Travel portal, earnings are even better. Through the travel booking site, rewards can jump to a 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars bonus categories.
This earning rate is better than other cash-back business cards, which may only earn 1% back on everyday purchases. However, it falls behind the return on spending you'll receive with other cards — particularly if you're hoping to use your earnings for travel.
For example, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business earns 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent. In AwardWallet user redemptions, the average value of a Capital One mile is 2.04¢. This means that if you opted for this card instead, you'd be getting a ~4% return on your spending compared to the 1.5% you'll get with the Spark Cash Select.
Redeeming Cash Back With the Capital One Spark Cash Select
Cardholders have four different ways to redeem the cash back earned through the Spark Cash Select. If you have a Capital One card that earns miles, you'll unlock an additional redemption option, due to the ability to combine the rewards.
Gift cards
You can redeem your earnings toward gift cards with numerous retailers. The value you'll get on these redemptions can vary, so be mindful of this before you redeem your rewards.
Statement credit
If you'd like to receive a statement credit against purchases that you've made, just log in to your account to do so. There are no limitations for the amount you can redeem at any given time, nor for the categories of purchases for which you'd like a statement credit.
Paper check
If you'd prefer to receive a check in the mail rather than a statement credit, you can also opt to have one mailed to you. While this may take a little longer than applying for a statement credit, it's a nice way to pad your bank account balance.
Capital One Business Travel portal
Your last option for redeeming rewards comes in the form of the travel portal, where you can redeem your cash back for bookings that you make. However, if you're interested in booking through the travel portal, you're better off doing the following to maximize your rewards:
- Book a hotel, rental car, or flight through the travel portal using your card to pay.
- Redeem cash back as a statement credit against the purchase.
Booking through the Capital One Business Travel portal allows you to both earn (up to 5% cash back in the case of hotels and rental cars) and redeem against a single purchase. You'll wind up with more rewards in the long run.
Plus, using this portal is also a convenient way to manage business travel. It offers features like customizable travel policies, streamlined team access to bookings, and intuitive methods of tracking what your business spends on travel in real time.
Application Restrictions and Strategy
The Spark Cash Select is an interesting beast when it comes to the application process. Capital One tends to be one of the strictest card issuers around. This is especially true when it comes to those who frequently open new credit cards.
Our best advice is to hold off from applying for cards for a few months before trying your hand with Capital One, because the issuer tends to be sensitive to the number of inquiries and new accounts it sees on your credit report.
There are a few other rules to note:
- You can hold a maximum of two personal Capital One cards at once.
- There is no limit to the number of business cards you can have.
- You'll only be approved for one card every six months.
- Capital One pulls from all three credit bureaus.
- Business credit cards are reported to your credit account; this means they'll be included in your Chase 5/24 count.
Capital One also tends to approve only those who will qualify for the bonus. However, it has recently begun including language that may indicate otherwise:
“Existing or previous Accountholders may not be eligible for this one-time bonus.”
There aren't any data points suggesting approval without eligibility for the bonus, but the door has been opened. Keep an eye out.
Cards That Compete With the Capital One Spark Cash Select
There are plenty of business credit cards out there. These run the gamut from no-annual-free options to cards that'll cost you hundreds of dollars per year to keep in your pocket. There are also cards that provide far more benefits, such as hotel elite status. If you're not sure the Spark Cash Select card is for you, consider the following:
- If your business has higher expenses that can be charged to a rewards card, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus offers an amazing welcome offer of $2,000 cash back once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months. Additionally, you'll earn unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, making it easy to maximize your cash back earnings on all your business expenses.
- If you're looking for better cash back, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card also has no annual fee(Rates & Fees) but earns 2% cash back on the first $50,000 spent each year (then 1% thereafter). You'll also enjoy a $250 statement credit after you make $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first 3 months. Check out our full review of the Blue Business Cash for more details.
- If you'd rather earn transferable rewards, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business waives the annual fee during the first year, then it's $95 in years two and beyond. This card gives you 2 Miles per $1 on every purchase, everywhere. These can then be transferred to Capital One's 22 hotel and airline partners. Check out our full review of the Spark Miles card for a deeper look.
- If your credit isn't excellent, the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit has all the same benefits without the cash bonus in the welcome offer. It also features a 0% Intro APR for the first 12 months; it has a 21.24% - 29.24% variable APR after that.
- 2% Cash Back on every purchase. 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One's travel booking site.
(Terms apply)
- Earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on the first $50,000 of purchases each calendar year, 1% thereafter. Cash back earned is automatically credited to your statement.
- 2X miles per dollar on every purchase, everywhere, no limits or category restrictions
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
Final Thoughts
The Spark Cash Select is a decent option for those looking to earn no-fuss cash back. With an unlimited 1.5% cash back on everyday spending, it takes little forethought to earn and redeem your rewards. However, it falls behind competitors when it comes to return on spending. This is especially true when compared to cards that earn flexible rewards points.
Still, a $750 cash back welcome offer and benefits such as roadside assistance, an extended warranty, and no foreign transaction fees make this card worth a second look.
- $750 Cash Back once you spend $6,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
- 1.5% cashback on every purchase
- 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 annual fee
- 1.5% cashback on every purchase
- 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (Rates & Fees)
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